AT&T making ‘millions’ by helping government ‘spy’ on citizens with secret surveillance program

AT&T is earning millions from taxpayers by secretly helping the government and its law enforcement organs crack cases by providing information on trillions of telephone calls.

AT&T Technician

The existence of the controversial program, which is known as Hemisphere, was first reported back in 2013 and now The Daily Beast has revealed that AT&T is making millions of dollars from the scheme although the exact amount has not been revealed.

It has been criticized by civil liberties advocates for serving as what they say is essentially an espionage program targeting US civilians.

Hemisphere enables government agencies to tap into phone records and pinpoint the locations of cellular phone users, which law enforcement officials say is key to helping in the fight against narcotics traffickers.

Since 2007, AT&T has been helping the government by providing a database that stores information on trillions of phone calls. AT&T headquarters in Indianapolis is seen above

&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;em&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img id=”i-1f41268e3206a26f” src=”http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/10/25/14/39B33D6E00000578-3870906-image-a-1_1477401901180.jpg” height=”423″ width=”634″ alt=”Since 2007, AT&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;T has been helping the government by providing a database that stores information on trillions of phone calls. AT&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;T headquarters in Indianapolis is seen above” class=”blkBorder img-share”/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;a

The program has been up and running since 2007 and gives police access to a database which stores phone calls that span decades.

The Hemisphere program has alarmed civil liberties groups to the point that they took the government to court demanding that more information about its collaboration with AT&T be made public.

Last year, one organization, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, sued both the Drug Enforcement Agency and the California State Attorney General in an effort to force them to release full documentation regarding their cooperation with the Hemisphere program.

‘Through the Hemisphere program, AT&T assists federal and local law enforcement in accessing and analyzing its massive database of call detail records (CDRs) – information on phone numbers dialed and received, as well as the time, date, and length of call and in some instances location information,’ the EEF said.

The program has been run in total secrecy, and its existence was only revealed to the public by the New York Times in 2013. The official logo of the program is seen above

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img id=”i-152e273642684fe5″ src=”http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/10/25/14/39B3510400000578-3870906-The_program_has_been_run_in_total_secrecy_and_its_existence_was_-a-8_1477402613642.jpg” height=”322″ width=”634″ alt=”The program has been run in total secrecy, and its existence was only revealed to the public by the New York Times in 2013. The official logo of the program is seen above” class=”blkBorder img-share”/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp

‘More specifically, Hemisphere has access to telecommunication ‘switches’ operated by AT&T that guide telephone calls. Because other providers use AT&T ‘switches’ for their calls, the database contains call detail records regardless of carrier. The database has records concerning local, long distance, cellular, and international calls.’

EEF initially filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get the government to release records about Hemisphere, but once it received documents that were heavily redacted, it went to court.

Law enforcement officials in California used Hemisphere to make an arrest in the November 2013 killing of the McStay family.

Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their two children, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3, were bludgeoned to death and buried in makeshift graves in the desert.

It took local sheriffs a year before arresting the suspect, Charles Merritt.

Hemisphere was used by law enforcement in California to make an arrest in the brutal 2013 murders of Joseph McStay (right), 40, his wife, Summer (far left), 43, and their two children

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img id=”i-10238e08a1f380″ src=”http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/10/25/14/39B33D6200000578-3870906-image-a-6_1477401956815.jpg” height=”419″ width=”634″ alt=”Hemisphere was used by law enforcement in California to make an arrest in the brutal 2013 murders of&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;Joseph McStay (right), 40, his wife, Summer (far left), 43, and their two children” class=”blkBorder img-share”/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

The couple and their two children were bludgeoned to death and buried in a makeshift grave in the California desert.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img id=”i-934f2255157555b2″ src=”http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/10/25/14/39B33D5E00000578-3870906-image-a-7_1477401962685.jpg” height=”565″ width=”634″ alt=”The couple and their two children were bludgeoned to death and buried in a makeshift grave in the California desert. The suspect was arrested based on information obtained from his girlfriend’s phone records” class=”blkBorder img-share”/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;nbsp;

Anita Fuentes is a full-time Christian Evangelist and Pastor. Founder and President of EMOAF Church and Open Your Eyes People broadcast she is the mother of 6 beautiful children and married to her husband for over 16 years. Evangelist Anita Fuentes loves the Lord Jesus Christ and is honored to serve Christians and those still seeking in their walk in life.